Dealing with North Korea, redux: Go back to the fundamentals

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Published March 7, 2018 10:40pm ET



Tuesday morning, we woke up to some unexpected headlines on North Korea. Following the South Korean delegation’s two-day trip to Pyongyang, Seoul announced that President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will be holding a summit at the end of April. Adding to this surprise package, Kim promised not to use nuclear or conventional weapons against the South, even expressing a willingness to “hold a heartfelt dialogue” with President Trump on denuclearization if Pyongyang’s security could be guaranteed. Kim also described denuclearization as a “teaching left by his ancestors.”

This comes at the heels of Pyongyang’s charm potion during the Pyeongchang Olympics, which cast a spell on the international audience, who, intoxicated by the spectacle and novelty of Pyongyang’s cheerleaders and Kim Yo-jong’s understated yet carefully calculated attendance at the opening ceremony, surrendered momentarily to a memory lapse of the DPRK’s wrongdoings.

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